{"id":68456,"date":"2017-04-10T20:06:39","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T12:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/leveraging-big-data-to-unlock-value-in-space\/"},"modified":"2017-04-10T20:06:39","modified_gmt":"2017-04-10T12:06:39","slug":"leveraging-big-data-to-unlock-value-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/leveraging-big-data-to-unlock-value-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging Big Data to Unlock Value in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

By the mid-21st century, businesses in nearly every industry on the planet will have to leverage Big Data to stay competitive, according to a panel of experts at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Without an in-house ability to analyze large datasets, running a business will become increasingly difficult, said Chris Boshuizen, entrepreneur in residence at Data Collective VC.<\/strong> And while this isn\u2019t limited to the space industry due to the world\u2019s entry into what he calls a \u201cdata-centric economy,\u201d Boshuizen pointed out that space companies in particular are \u201con average a little behind in terms of the adoption of machine learning \u2026 and really using the data as a core part of the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is ironic because space companies were some of the first to adopt computers into their workflows, he said. \u201cI think [it is] just like the train system and train infrastructure in the United States. The U.S. was one of the first countries to build a transcontinental railway but now it\u2019s over 100 years old.\u201d Similar to how the U.S. has fallen behind in upgrading its rail infrastructure, so too have space companies failed to keep up with businesses in other industries born in this data-centric economy, he said. Facebook<\/strong>, which recently leveraged Big Data to construct population density maps, is one salient example.<\/p>\n

But there are exceptions. DigitalGlobe<\/strong>, for one, has invested heavily into its analytical capabilities to make full use of its massive cache of Earth imagery. \u201cWe\u2019re producing approximately 270 terabytes of data per day. That\u2019s adding to a database now in the cloud that\u2019s 100 petabytes \u2026 the equivalent of 100 million hours of video,\u201d said Jeffrey Tarr, DigitalGlobe\u2019s president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). \u201cThis data is so massive that human beings don\u2019t have the capacity to analyze or make sense of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consequently, DigitalGlobe has invested heavily over the last few years to open up this data to a growing ecosystem of partners, which in turn are helping transform DigitalGlobe from just a satellite operator into a wider \u201cinformation business,\u201d Tarr said.<\/p>\n

The panelists agreed that companies as a whole must strive to democratize these large data streams for the benefit of the global economy. For DigitalGlobe, that means ensuring access to its data is as low-cost as possible, particularly for early stage startups, many of which are venture-backed. Tarr said that DigitalGlobe often shares its data based on its customers\u2019 percentage of revenue, and he sees this as a net positive for the industry. \u201cAs they unlock their market opportunity, we all benefit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Boshuizen said Planet<\/strong> has a similar objective in mind. \u201cOne of the founding principles was that data be accessible to everyone. It doesn\u2019t have to be free, but it has to be available,\u201d he said. To that end, the company has created an Application Programming Interface (API) around which anyone can build their own app. \u201cJust like the Google Maps model, where you see Google Maps embedded in so many applications \u2014 we took a lesson from that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason the panelists stressed the democratization of data is because the industry needs as many companies as possible innovating new ways to leverage these data streams into actual value. For Lars Dyrud, CEO of OmniEarth<\/strong>, the current lack of applications is a significant limitation to growing Big Data businesses, particularly those focused on Earth Observation (EO). \u201cThe problem is there is not enough additional demand for all this stuff we\u2019re putting into space. I think that the biggest hurdle right now is unlocking these applications,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To facilitate new capabilities, World View <\/strong>CEO Jane Poynter suggested that collaboration across businesses may be the best approach, and as such has oriented World View to capitalize on its partnerships with companies such as Ball Aerospace<\/strong>. \u201cOur business model is founded in the notion of an ecosystem \u2026 I think a rising tide really does lift all boats,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As for the future, Poynter expects new data streams to continue to emerge. Although World View is one of the few observation companies operating in the upper atmosphere rather than in space, she thinks the field will quickly become more crowded. \u201cIn a few short years you are going to see that the stratospheric economy is going to be a major driver in this greater space and aerial economy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

These new data sources will add to what Tarr calls \u201ca living digital inventory\u201d of the planet. He believes that not too far into the future, humans will have near ubiquitous and continuous coverage of the Earth at a resolution that will improve our decision-making across all industries. \u201cAnd that\u2019s going to make the world a better place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By the mid-21st century, businesses in nearly every industry on the planet will have to leverage Big Data to stay competitive, according to a panel of experts at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Without an in-house ability to analyze large datasets, running a business will become increasingly difficult, said Chris Boshuizen, entrepreneur […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":68457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68456"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}